The Armour of God - breastplate of righteousness Who do you say that I am

Now open up your Bible to Ephesians 6.

So we're coming back to our series on the armor of God.

! I hope to finish it before I go on holiday.

If you missed the first two sermons,

it might be worth just having a listen to those sermons.

Send the church office an email and they can send you the call-ins.

There's a really interesting incident in Acts 19,

if you know that chapter, where Paul is referred to as a man who's known in hell.

There's an evil spirit that has conquered the Jewish exorcist.

And he refers to the fact of this evil spirit.

He says, I don't know who you are.

Who are you anyway?

He says, I know who Jesus is and I know who Paul is,

but I don't know who you are.

There's a little bit of humor in that incident, really.

And somebody commenting on that incident has described the Apostle Paul as a man known in hell.

A man known in hell.

A marked man, in other words.

And that should be every single one of us who is a Christian this evening.

Who is in Christ.

If we've been saved, if we have been rescued from Satan's clenches,

if we've been translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light,

then we're marked men and women, boys and girls.

As long as we're unbelieving, as long as we're outside of Christ,

as long as we're in Satan's kingdom,

well, he doesn't bother about us too much.

Do you remember the illustration that Jesus talks about?

He says the good, the armed man, the strong man,

he keeps his goods in peace.

The devil is not bothered by us as long as we're not believing in Christ.

As long as we're in his kingdom.

But the moment we're rescued, the moment that we are saved from his power,

we become important to him.

We become marked men on his witness.

To be a wanted man or a wanted woman,

to be on a death list, it's a horrible thing, isn't it?

We know, don't we, people who are on a wanted list,

or they're on a death list,

they have to take the appropriate security arrangements.

And we are on a Satan's list list.

And so we are to be on our guard.

And we are to make full provision

of all the security arrangements that God has made.

Think of a policeman in Northern Ireland,

during the troubles.

I remember being in Northern Ireland,

my sister went to university in Belfast,

and we stayed at a policeman's house,

and every day he would go out,

and before he got into his car,

he'd have to check in his car,

under his car,

to see whether there was some device under it.

He'd have to go over different things with a device,

because he was on a wanted list,

because he was on a hit list.

He had to take care

to follow all the security arrangements.

And so do we.

And so that's what we're looking at, aren't we,

in this series.

Can you see that again?

A little verse 11.

Put on the whole armour of God,

that we may be able to stand.

Verse 13.

Therefore take up the whole armour of God,

again, same thing,

that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,

and having done all to stand firm,

stand therefore,

having fastened on the belt of truth

that we looked at last time,

and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.

And so this is the kind of second piece of equipment

that God has provided for us,

for our protection,

the breastplate of righteousness.

As an introduction,

I really want to stress to you the importance

of this piece of equipment.

It's really the centrepiece of Christian armour.

We know, don't we,

of bulletproof vests.

Our police, in the mess,

they sometimes wear staff vests.

That is the modern equivalent of a breastplate.

And that bulletproof vest will provide protection,

and for what we call the vital organs of the body.

And so,

a soldier,

at least when they might get hit in the leg,

or the arm,

and they'll survive.

But if they get hit in the region

covered by the bulletproof vest,

or the breastplate,

well, they're unlikely to survive.

The breastplate covers, doesn't it?

The vital region,

the vital organs of the body.

And that's why it's so important.

That we are covered by the breastplate of righteousness.

Let me put it to you,

like this,

all the references I'm going to use,

there's quite a few of them,

are on the sheets that you were given when you came in.

Proverbs 4.23,

Keep your heart with all vigilance,

for from it flows the springs of life.

And the NIV, I think more helpfully puts it,

it says,

Guard your heart above all else.

Whatever else you do,

or whatever other armour you've got on,

whatever other protection you avail yourself of,

guard your heart above all else,

because it's the well-spring of life.

Because out of your heart are the issues of life.

And when the Bible speaks about the heart,

it's not speaking about a physical organ

that pumps blood around our bodies.

When the Bible speaks of the heart of men and women,

it's talking about the centre of our personality.

The heart is,

according to the Bible,

it's the seat of our affections,

it's the real you,

it's the centre of your thought processes,

it's the home of your conscience,

it's the spring of all our motives,

it's the source of all our desires,

it's the fountain of all activities,

it's the focus of our personal lives.

It's us.

And the Bible says you have to guard your heart.

And it's vital that you guard your heart,

because out of the heart are the issues of life.

And that is the target that the devil aims at most of all.

That's where the battle will be fought and won.

It's not out there somewhere,

but in our hearts.

It's in the realm, isn't it,

of our affections,

what we want,

and love,

of our thoughts,

it's in the realms of our conscience,

it's in the realm of our motives and our desires.

That's where the battle is fought with Satan.

And that is where we most need God's protection.

Let's look at it a little bit more closely,

you'll see that it's described for us there,

isn't it,

as the breastplate of righteousness.

Put on the breastplate of righteousness.

God's protection for our hearts

in the battle against the devil

is righteousness.

What do we mean by that?

Well, first thing is this.

It can't mean our own righteousness.

It can't mean our own righteous acts,

our own right standing before God.

When it talks about

the breastplate of righteousness,

it cannot possibly mean

that we put on our own righteousness,

because for the very simple reason,

we don't have any righteousness.

We don't have any righteousness

inherently in God's sight.

Do you remember how Romans tells you

there is none righteous,

no,

not one,

not in God's sight.

I don't mean by this

that we're as bad as

we could be,

that's obviously not true.

There are good things

in human nature.

And every single one of us

has got our good points,

but it's all comparative,

isn't it?

And when we bring our goodness

into the light of God's holiness,

it looks very tarnished indeed

and quite shabby.

And the Bible tells us actually,

doesn't it,

alarmingly,

that our goodness

is not goodness at all

in God's sight.

That actually,

as we see our goodness

in God's sight,

we know that it's full of

false motives

and pride

and vanity

and things which

other people might say,

well,

that's really good

that you've done that

on the outside.

We know that on

the inside,

if we hunt,

there's selfishness

and pride.

And we don't do things

to please God

and that's the only motive

for goodness.

There is none really good

in this world

by nature.

There is none righteous.

No, not one,

says the Apostle.

Isaiah says that

our righteous acts,

they're like filthy rags.

And so if we try

to stand before Satan

in our own righteousness,

it's like standing

before him in a

in a string vest

full of holes.

And to think that

you can stand

against the devil

trusting in your own

inherent goodness

is utter madness.

There's no protection

in your goodness.

And that's crucially important

because if you haven't

seen this,

if you've not seen that,

then you're not

really even in the battle.

if you haven't

come to understand

that your own

righteousness

is useless

when it comes

to your acceptance

of God

with God

that you dare

not rely it.

If you haven't been

brought to that point

to understand that,

well,

the really alarming

truth is tonight

you're not in

God's kingdom.

And you're really

still in Satan's kingdom.

Paul says

you've been blinded

by him

under his control.

Doesn't mean

you're as bad

as you could be

but it does mean

that you're not

in the battle at all

and that's

crucially important.

Listen to how

the Apostle Paul

puts it,

he gives his testimony

in Philippians 3

it's on the sheet

and he says

in verse 9

he says

there was a time

when I really

thought that

I was pretty secure

in my own

righteousness.

And he describes

his own

righteousness

earlier on in the chapter.

He talks about

having confidence

in the flesh

doesn't he

right at the start

of verse 4.

And he says

if anyone thinks

that they can have

confidence

before God

in the flesh

well I can outdo them

and he goes on

to list the various

things that he

once trusted in

you'll see them there

and he relied upon

them to put him

right with God.

And so verse 5

he says

I was circumcised

on the eighth day

I was of the people

of Israel

of the tribe of Benjamin

a Hebrew of Hebrews

as to the law

of Pharisee

as the zeal

well I praise

the people of the church

as to righteousness

under the law

blameless.

And then he says

verse 9

not having a righteousness

of my own

that comes from the law

but that which comes

through faith in Christ

the righteousness

from God

that depends on faith.

So he describes

his goodness

his background

his upbringing

his religious

duties

his decency

his honesty

his morality

and having described

all that

he comes to say

all that is useless.

All that is useless.

He says

these things

I thought they were

gained to me

verse 7

but actually

they are not.

I was counted

on these things

to get me to heaven

I thought

these were the things

that would bring me

right with God

but now I see

that these things

they'll never do that

for me.

So verse 7

but whatever gain

I had

I counted as loss

for the sake of Christ

indeed I count

everything as loss

because of the

surpassing worth

of knowing Christ

Jesus my Lord.

For his sake

I covered the loss

of all things

and covered them

as rubbish

in order that I

may gain Christ

and be found in him

not having a righteousness

of my own

that comes from the law.

not having a

doing yourself religion.

No he says

I know that there's

nothing I can do

to stand me

in good stead at all.

That's all I want.

What I want

he says

is a righteousness

which is of God

which comes through faith.

And that is the righteousness

that I need

and that is the righteousness

that you and I need

if we're going to stand

before the enemy.

It's a bulletproof righteousness.

Your own righteousness

is not bulletproof

it's full of holes.

But the righteousness

he describes here

the righteousness of God

which is in Jesus Christ

and it comes to us

by faith

in Christ

is well

invulnerable

to Satan's accusation.

It's bulletproof

on the evil day.

And as soon as you

be brought to this point

your heart

well it's just wide open

to the devil.

You're still in

enemy territory.

And if you're trusting

in your own righteousness

you're in very dangerous territory.

So this righteousness

that the apostle Paul

is talking about

in the Ephesians 6

it's not our own righteousness.

So what is it?

If this righteousness

is God's provision

for our protection

against Satan

if it's not

our own righteousness

what is it?

Where does it come from?

What Paul tells us

doesn't he?

It is the righteousness

of God

and how does it come?

By faith in Jesus Christ.

There are two things

that I'm going to say

tonight about this righteousness

and I'm going to use

technical terms.

I don't apologise for that.

I think we need to

stop apologising

for theological

technical terms.

We need to explain them.

The message of the gospel

has technical terms.

It's not our business

to dumb them down.

Have you bought a laptop?

Have you bought a laptop?

When you're going to buy a laptop

do you understand

what the specifications are?

I haven't got the

farthest clue, isn't it?

You haven't got a clue

what they are

and neither are you.

But if you're going to

buy a laptop

and it's a decent laptop

and you're more

diligent than I am

you will go and

you'll research those terms

because those terms

matter.

You take the trouble

to find out

what the spec is.

But we're dealing

with something tonight

that's far more important

than you buying a laptop

or a phone

or whatever it is.

We're dealing with

your eternal destiny.

Your never dying soul.

Your safety.

And so what we're dealing

with tonight

is more to you personally.

It's very, very important indeed.

So I'm not apologising

for using technical terms.

What is this righteousness?

What is this protection

that God provides

for our hearts

against Satan's attack?

It's not ours.

What is it?

It is God's righteousness

provided for us

in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And it comes to us

by faith.

What is it?

Number one,

it's imputed righteousness.

Imputed righteousness.

Let's go back to the reading

we have from Zechariah 3.

There's a really, really

vivid illustration.

It's a really lovely illustration

tucked away in the Old Testament

in Zechariah.

The prophet recounts

this remarkable vision

that he had.

And in that vision,

he sees Joshua,

Israel's high priest,

standing before the angel of God.

And when told him,

can you see verse 1?

Then he showed him

Joshua, the high priest,

standing before the angel of the Lord

and Satan,

standing at his right hand

to accuse him.

That's a brilliant summary

of what the devil does.

Nothing could describe

more eloquently

what the devil does

to a Christian.

The Bible calls the devil

the accuser of the brethren.

It's one of the titles

that the Bible gives it.

He's an accuser.

And when we, like Joshua,

stand in the presence of God

and we're longing

to know God more,

and to fellowship with God,

the devil comes alongside us

and he points the finger at us

and he accuses us.

And the effect of that

can be devastating, can't it?

He dredges up our past.

He brings before us our sin

and he says,

you,

how can you expect God

to hear your prayers?

And there's many of us

that have stopped praying

and we've stopped reading

our Bibles for a time

precisely because of this,

because the devil

comes alongside us.

And when we open up our Bibles

and when we come to pray,

these thoughts,

how can someone like you

expect to have fellowship

with God?

You're wasting more time.

How can you ever expect

to cross the threshold

into God's presence?

Don't you remember

you did this yesterday?

Don't you remember

you did that

and he accuses us

and he points the finger

at us and we think,

oh, let's just do anything else

other than this.

There is practice.

He is the accuser

with the brethren.

Now, what do you do

in a situation like that?

How do you handle

the accusations

of the devil?

Well, you put on

the breastplate of righteousness.

What does that mean?

We'll look at Zechariah 3.

It's beautiful.

We're told that Satan

stood alongside Joshua

to resist him

and accuse him

before God.

Look at verse 2.

And the Lord said to Satan,

the Lord rebuke you,

O Satan.

The Lord who has chosen

Jerusalem,

rebuke you.

Is not this

a brand

I have plucked

from the burning,

from the fire?

God says to the devil,

I am the one

who has chosen you.

I am the one

who has chosen this man.

I chose to save him

or her.

He or she

is a brand

plucked from the fire.

And then you read

these beautiful words.

Verse 3.

Now Joshua was

standing

before the angel

clothed with filthy garments

and the angel

said to those

who were standing

before him,

remove the filthy garments

from him.

And to him he said,

behold,

I have taken

your iniquity,

your sin,

that which is within you,

which is walked

and always going towards sin.

I have taken that

away from you

and I will close you

with pure vestments,

pure garments.

That's what we mean

by impurity is righteousness.

It's all of this.

It's his righteousness

given to us

in purity to us.

And the moment

we believe in him,

the moment we trust in him,

our filthy garments

are taken away from us

and his perfect,

spotless righteousness

is put on us instead.

That's the heart

of the gospel.

The gospel is more

than that

but that's at the heart of it.

It's what we call

justification by faith.

There's a transaction

that takes place

and it takes place

in the courts of heaven.

It doesn't take place

in our experience.

Justification

is not

an experience.

It is a legal act

that takes place

the moment

we believe on Christ,

the moment

we rely on Christ,

the moment

we lean heavily

upon him,

there is a transfer

and our filthy garments,

the garments

of our sin,

our spotted righteousness

and our filthy garments

they're taken from us

and they're put

to his account.

And he who knew

no sin

was made sin

for us.

That we might be made

to the righteousness

of God

in him.

Upon a life

I did not live.

Upon a death

I did not die.

Another's life,

another's death,

I stake my whole eternity.

That is the breastplate

of righteousness.

And to put it on

is to understand it.

To put on

the breastplate

of righteousness

is to know

that you are

right with God.

That's the only way

you can stand up

to the accusations

of Satan.

When he comes

dreading up your past

and points into your failures

it's the only way

you can meet him.

It's to put on

the breastplate

of righteousness

that is to be saved

from Satan's accusation.

Martin Luther,

the great German

when there was

the Reformation

he said that

this article

this kind of

truth,

this doctrine

it was the article

of a standing

or falling church.

Certainly what

Christians stand

or fall.

It's where the

battle is won

or lost

against the devil.

And do you see

how important

this is?

So many of

the spiritual

problems we have

as Christians

especially problems

of assurance

are due to the fact

we've not put on

the breastplate

of righteousness.

We've not understood

the doctrine

of justification

by faith.

And if you're

a Christian

you are justified

but unless you

understand what

that means

unless you get it

or if you forget

what that means

then you are a

prey to the enemy

and it happens

in lots of

different ways.

So what happens

is Christians

begin to trust

in their feelings.

It's so important

to have feelings.

I want to say

if you've never

felt anything

in your Christianity

there's something

very wrong with that.

I can't understand

how anyone can

come to God

through Jesus Christ

and understand

that they're being

saved from sin

and come into fellowship

with God

and not feel anything.

I don't understand

that.

It's ridiculous.

You're bound

to feel something.

Aren't you?

And feelings

are very important

but feelings

make a really

poor breastplate.

And because

feelings

well they're here

today and they've

gone tomorrow

eh.

And if you rely

on your feelings

this evening

the devil will

really make

short work on you

because before

you go home

tonight you'll

be filled with

doubts and

anxieties

because your

feelings come and

go like mine do

and they change

with the weather.

Maybe you're

trusting in some

past experience

I was in a

meeting recently

where somebody

called a

gypsy

smith

the evangelist

and he used

to say to

people I know

I'm a Christian

because I was

there when it

happened.

And that

sounds spiritual

but it isn't

right.

We know what

it means but

the devil makes

short work of

that.

If you trust in

some past

experience

then the devil

will come to

you and what

will he say?

He'll say to

you well it's

not just

psychological.

He can point

you to any

number of

people who

had a

similar

experience

Christians.

And they

don't even

pretend to be

Christians.

And if you're

trusting in your

experience that

is no

protection.

My hope

is built on

nothing less

than Jesus'

blood and

righteousness.

I dare not

trust the

sweetest frame

but wholly

lean on

Jesus' name.

On Christ

the solid rock

I stand all

by the ground

and the

sinking

side.

That's the

breastplate of

righteousness.

That's what it

means to put on

the breastplate

of righteousness.

I don't trust

in my feelings.

I thank God

for feelings and

I thank God

for experiences

but I don't

trust in them.

They're not my

hope.

My hope is

built on

nothing less

than Jesus'

blood and

righteousness.

When the

devil comes

and he attacks

your conscience

and he will

and Satan

comes to you

and he accuses

you of not

being a Christian

how can you

be a Christian?

And the

devil tempts

you to

despair.

He does.

And so

when Satan

tempts me

to despair

and he tells

me of the

guilt within

and he just

sent me

up where I

look.

That's where

you look.

Up where I

look.

Not inward.

Up where I

look and see

him who made

an end of

all my sin.

Because the

sinless

saviour

died.

My sinful

soul is

counted

free.

For God

the just

is satisfied

to look

on him

and pardon

me.

And when

the devil

comes in

he says

how can

you possibly

call yourself

a Christian?

What do you

say to him?

You say to him

I know I'm a

sinner.

That's what

it's all about.

God knows I'm a

sinner.

So can't

promise me

about that.

You're absolutely

right devil.

I am a

sinner but I've

got a saviour.

And what's

happened is

his perfect

spotless life

has been put

to my

account and

my filthy

life has

been transferred

and put

down to him.

That's the

breastplate of

righteousness.

I'm going to

put it on.

And the

Bible says

it's the

most important

thing of all.

And the

battle against

the devil is

to know that

you're right

with God and

to know why

you're right

with God.

Not just the

hope that you

are.

So many

Christians you

ask them

are you

going to

heaven?

Are you

saved?

I say well

I hope so.

You must

know sir.

You must

know what the

breastplate of

righteousness is

all about.

To know that

you're right

with God.

To have

confidence to

meet the

enemy.

To have

confidence to

go out and

face him.

Because you

know that

the sin

issue in

your life.

The unrighteousness

issue in

your life.

Has been

dealt with

perfectly and

fully forever.

In the

life and

death of

Jesus.

Listen to

how John

puts it in

Revelation 12.

John said

like you had a

loud voice in

heaven saying

now the

salvation and

the power and

the kingdom of

our God and

the authority of

his Christ have

come for the

accuser of our

brothers has

been thrown

down.

Who accuses

them day and

night before

God and they

have conquered

him.

By the

blood of

the Lamb.

And by the

word of their

testimony for

they loved not

their lives even

unto death.

Therefore rejoice

O heavens and

you who dwell

in them but

woe to your

earth and see for

the devil has

come down to

you in great

wrath because he

knows his

time is short.

They overcame

it.

And the

accuser of the

brethren is

cast down.

They overcame

it.

How did they

overcome it?

By the

blood of

the Lamb.

That is the

breastplate of

righteousness.

The

righteousness of

Jesus Christ

puts to our

account the

moment we

believe in

him.

And our

sinfulness

imputed to

him.

So that now

we believe.

the righteousness

that God

provides us in

our fight

against the

devil is not

our own.

We can never

stand up against

the devil's

attack.

And we can

never stand up

to the scrutiny

of a holy

God.

And so this

righteousness,

Christ's

righteousness is

imputed to

us.

Provided for

us in the

life and death

of Jesus.

It becomes

ours by

faith.

Don't believe

it.

You go to

the pub,

you're leaving

in the pub

with your

friends.

And one of

your friends

sets up a

tab.

It's very

generous.

And so you

go to the

bar and

the barmaid

says that'll

be £20 for

two pints

or whatever

ridiculously it

is.

And she

says that'll

be £25.

And you

say, what

do you

say?

You say,

oh, put it

on the tab.

You put it

on his

tab.

And your

friend, at

the end of

the night, he

picks up the

tab.

Put it to

our

account.

And that's

what Christ

has done.

He has

put us

into his

account.

This perfect

life has been

put to our

account, imputed

righteousness.

But that

righteousness which

is ours in

Christ, and I'll

try and be

brief here, is

also imparted

to us, secondly,

by the Holy

Spirit.

The

righteousness

which is

ours in

Christ, which

is put to

our account, is

also imparted

to us by the

Holy Spirit.

And you

must never

separate those

two things.

You must

never separate

imputed

righteousness and

imparted

righteousness.

They belong

together.

And they're

woven together in

this breastplate.

To put it

doctrinally, you

must never

separate

justification,

that God

declares us

right because of

Christ's

righteousness, with

sanctification,

which is being

set apart and

increasingly set

apart for God.

Where there's

one there, there

has to be the

other.

And so the

person who has

been put right

with God will

begin to live

righteously before

him.

That's part of our

protection too.

And so James, in

his official, he

tells us, can we

see that?

He says, resist

the devil.

He doesn't

incidentally tell

you to rebuke

the devil.

How many

were ever

told that?

And he

says, resist

the devil.

And you may

say, well how

on earth can I

resist the

devil?

We're not

talking about

a comic

strip figure.

He's not a

cartoon character

with horns and

hooves and a

tail.

We're talking

about the one

in the Bible

who's described

as the prince

of the power

of the air,

the spirit

who is now

aware in those

who are

disobedient.

I'm no

man for

him.

Can I

read you?

Well yes

you are,

says James.

Look what it

says.

It says, resist

the devil.

And you can

resist it.

And you can

see him fleeing

from you.

How is that

possible?

Well listen to

this, verse 7

and 8.

Resist the

devil and he

will flee

from you.

Draw near to

God and he

will draw near

to you.

Cleanse

your hands

you sinners

and purify

your hearts

you double

minded.

You see

resistance to

the devil,

it grows

out of

Christian

living.

You see

you will

not see

him run

away from

you unless

you are

living

righteously

before God.

Unless you

are submitting

to God,

unless you're

drawing near

to God.

Unless you're

cleansing your

hearts and

purifying,

cleansing your

hands and

purifying your

hearts.

When Peter

describes the

devil, can

you see it?

He's like a

roaring lion

who wanders

about seeking

whom he may

devour.

And what does

Peter say?

Peter says

resist him.

Stand against

him.

How can I

resist a

roaring lion?

How can I

do that?

I'm no match

for a roaring

lion.

Well yes,

you are,

the Bible

says.

Because look

at that last

verse, it's a

beautiful proverb

isn't it?

The wicked

flee when no

one pursues,

but the

righteous are

as bold as

a lion.

There's guilt

for you,

isn't there?

Let's start

with that verse.

There's guilt

for you.

A man who

is guilty,

a man whose

sin has not

been dealt

with by the

blood of

Christ,

and that

man runs

when no

one is

chasing

him.

He's

always

looking over

his shoulder.

He knows

there's someone

attacking him,

but actually

there's no one

attacking him

at all.

That's how you

recognise guilt.

The wicked

flee when no

one is chasing

them, but the

righteous will

be as bold

as a lion.

And so

those of you

who are in

Christ,

you are more

than a match

for Satan.

And if you

are trusting

in the

righteousness

of Christ,

and if you

are living

that justified

life,

living righteously

before God,

by the Spirit

you can stand.

And you

can resist.

And you

can see the

devil running

away from you.

And so

therefore take

up the

whole armour

of God,

that you

may be able

to stand

in the

evil day,

having done

all to

stand firm,

stand

therefore,

having fastened

on the

belt of

truth,

and having

put on the

breastplate of

righteousness.

Heavenly

Father,

we